


Tea Talk

by miss_hula_girl



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-23
Updated: 2015-11-23
Packaged: 2018-05-02 15:08:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 988
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5252798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/miss_hula_girl/pseuds/miss_hula_girl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hange finds a way to get Levi rambling</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tea Talk

She was stuck. And it was really frustrating her. Hange rarely hit a wall like this while working, but when she did, it was bad. She had learned, though, to not just sit there and get more irritated. She took a break. Dinner, a bath, some reading. It was nice, but she needed something. Or someone.

Levi heard the knock on his door that evening and just said, “Come in,” not even getting up off of the couch. He already knew who it was, although he was surprised to see her so early in the evening.

“Why aren’t you working? And are you clean? I smell soap and not shit.”

Hange giggled. “I’m stuck, so I decided to do some other things.” She flopped down on the couch, resting her head in his lap.

“Tch, I was reading.” He looked at her a little annoyed, setting his book to the side.

“You can still read. I don’t really want anything. Just not to be alone.”

She closed her eyes as Levi picked his book back up.

“Read it out loud,” she said, never opening her eyes.

“No!” Levi knew reading wasn’t a strength of his and even though she wouldn’t make fun of him, he still wouldn’t read out loud to her. Hange just let out a low groan in response. They sat in silence for quite a while. So long, in fact, that Levi thought she had fallen asleep. Lost in his book, he was snapped out of it by a whisper.

“What’s a rare tea you wish you could try?” Hange asked quietly.

Levi didn’t think he heard her right. “What?” Did she really ask him a random ass question about tea?

“I know you research teas, even though you mostly drink black. I also know that you really only drink black tea because of the price and the fact that it is the only one available to us. So, based on your research, what rare tea would you like to try?” She never opened her eyes. Hange knew what she was doing. She wanted to hear him talk. The silence was making her brain focus on her dead end work again, so she needed something to focus on. And the best way to get Levi talking was to ask him about tea.

Levi put his book down to the side again and let out a sigh. No one ever asked him about tea except for Hange on the rare occasion. He wasn’t keen to her plan yet, so he took the bait.

“Well, there are essentially teas made with shit. Actual animal shit!”

“No way!” Of course he’d know that.

“Well, they use the shit to fertilize the tea, but that gets absorbed into it. They call it dung tea. I kind of want to try it just out of curiosity. I’ve never read what it tastes like though. The one I really want to try though is called Tieguanyin. It’s an oolong, so between black and green. You can use the leaves more than once, so that’s a perk.”

Hange thought for a minute. “What makes this tea so damn special? It’s just stupid leaves.” Hange opened an eye to gauge Levi’s reaction. He looked at her with a very disapproving expression.

“What makes these ‘stupid leaves’ so special is that they engage not just taste and smell, but all 5 senses. The look of the beautiful gold liquid and the bright leaves, the leaves are kneaded before being put into cloth bags which make a beautiful ringing noise when poured into a cup, it smells of chestnuts when being brewed, when you swirl the tea in your mouth the taste fills it, and the stupid leaves are crisp to the touch and heavy. All these together make drinking the tea more than just enjoying a beverage, it’s a whole experience.”

Hange was looking up at Levi, watching his expression. She could swear he was almost glowing. Others tend to forget they had lives outside of killing titans, so when someone engages their interests, they jump in fully. This is what Hange was going for with Levi. She wanted to see his passion, the light in his eyes when he talked about what he loved.

He continued, staring wistfully into space.

“There are fancy tea shops in the inner wall. They make nice teas, not as nice as the ones I’ve read about, but nicer than anything we get out here. And it’s about the experience. You get to see the leaves, feel and smell them, watch them brew the leaves properly. Each one is unique, so they have to know how to do them all. You get to watch the brew, see it from start to finish. When you get your cup, you can smell the fresh tea, sip it carefully, and let it swirl around your mouth. You can talk with others and describe the flavors. Floral, deep, earthy, light, crisp. And they bring biscuits and other treats to compliment the teas. One day, I’ll visit one of these shops.”

Hange looked up at him, big grin on her face.

Levi looked at her, shook his head and said, “You’re not invited. You don’t deserve good tea after referring to them as ‘stupid leaves.’ You can stay here and drink your crappy black sludge coffee.”

Hange’s expression didn’t fade, that’s when Levi realized what had just happened.

“You just wanted to hear me talk, didn’t you?”

“Maybe. I just couldn’t be in silence anymore. My brain needed a break. And the only way to get you talking is to talk about tea or killing titans. And I chose tea.”

Levi just sighed. “Ok, you win this one, shitty glasses.” He played with her hair as he leaned his head back on the couch.

Hange rolled onto her side, facing out to the office. “Can I at least try the shit tea?”

“Sure.”

**Author's Note:**

> Source for all that interesting tea info! http://www.top10zen.com/top-5-most-expensive-teas-in-the-world-574


End file.
